Wednesday, 8 August 2018

So, with the coming of
back-to-school just around the corner, I was reflecting about the past school
year and how there were more shootings than ever before. It's a tragedy. It
should not happen, not on our watch. At the gym I heard the tv running and an
ad popped up for one political candidate promising they would do something.
They were right in one thing they said, "Children should not have to fear
going to school." But the idea that we can create a law to change people's
hearts and intentions is far from a strategy that will work. You can't
legislate morality.

My friends, this is a spiritual battle. It is fought and won
on spiritual grounds. As the body of Christ, it is our duty to intercede for
the children. I could go on and on writing my heart out on this, but today I
simply want to invite you to pray. Pray for the protection of our schools, pray
for the salvation of our teachers and their students, pray for God to arrest
and seize every evil intent before it's acted upon.

Last night I was at a prayer gathering with my church and the
Lord pressed upon my heart to pray a thing that seems impossible, but for Him
it is! I prayed that this year there would be no school shootings. You heard
me, zero, nada, none! It is not beyond our God to hear and lend Himself to
answer this call. Church let's unite in this prayer for the next generation.
Let's not allow the devil another inch!

I'm not one who typically send on chain mail, but please pray
this with me and encourage all those who call on the name of our Lord Jesus to
do the same. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to
do nothing." - Edmund Burke. Let's do something. Let's pray!

"Dear God, our
Father who loves us and cares for all children. Hear our cry to you. Our cry for
the children of this nation. Surround them with your protection, keep them from
harm in their classrooms and throughout their day. Send your servants to be a
light in the schools; praying and proclaiming your heart. We ask that You send
Your warring angels to fight for the lives of these kids and that you act Oh'
God. Stop ever attack before it is acted upon. We pray those who are tempted
into harming others would encounter You and Your loving grace and would be
turned away from evil. In the name of Jesus, the name You gave us, we declare
victory and salvation for our children this year. We boldly ask that not one
child would die out of violence at school and that not one school shooting
would happen. Thank you, In Jesus' name, Amen. "

Wednesday, 1 August 2018

"That's just my luck." It's a phrase we hear all too often when something terrible, unfortunate or down-right awful happens. When we do this, we have ascribed the "bad events" of the day as normal occurrences for our abnormal selves. When I say or think this phrase, I often also am thinking about how I, unlike everyone else, can never seem to catch a break. This thinking, however, is extremely flawed. I am not more unfortunate that anyone else, my misfortunes just have a greater affect on me so they feel like they are greater and more frequent for me.

Let me go back to the thought about ascribing normalcy with our words. There is a theory in the study of Communication called "Social Constructionism." This theory holds the idea that language, more so, spoken words have a tremendous impact on our reality. The things we speak help shape our reality. In scripture we see forms of this taking place: Gen 1: God spoke the world into being. Gospels: Jesus spoke healing and life (and death to one unfruitful tree), Acts: The apostles speaking healing and declaring the Kingdom. Also, we see that throughout the Bible followers of God are commanded to speak and decree things into being (Job 22:28, Rom. 4:17 (in reference to Abraham), Prov. 18:21, *and more).

Back to the "my luck" saying; you may be thinking that you're not speaking bad 'luck' upon yourself, you're just stating the facts. This is true, but it is also true that you're agreeing with the enemy's plans over your life. You see, he wants you to think and believe that bad things are you lot and should be expected as your norm. It would be his utter defeat if you started believing, speaking and acting like God's own inheritance is your portion (WHICH IT IS!!!! Rom 8:16-17). You were not made to inherit "bad luck" and you were not saved to keep it. God's plans for you are so much greater!! He needs you to accept all the goodness He has for you so it can spread.

For example: Today on my ride, the forecast said that it was a small percentage for rain. I dawned my motorcycle gear and headed out. To my surprise (but not too much since this is FL and we ALWAYS get rain in the afternoon), I saw dark clouds up ahead. Now, I could have said, "Geeze, that's just my luck; as soon as I leave the house the clouds come out." However, I didn't (I'm learning to accept that Jesus wants good things for me and desires to answer my prayers). I said a short, "Lord, please don't let it rain on me." When I got safely home, as I was shutting the door I heard thunder overhead. I thought to myself and thanked the Lord for being so good to me. Then it dawned on me that I should expect His goodness to show up in my life. I was not "lucky" that it didn't rain on me, I was blessed! I truly believe He wants to bless His kids (more that we can imagine or hope that He would).

Something you may not have thought about before: is your unwillingness to accept that God wants to bless you keeping His blessing from spreading to someone else? My friend, bad luck is not your portion. Misfortune is not from God. He has called you His precious, adopted, chosen, child!!!! And He is a good Father! No dad who is worth his salt ever wanted bad things for his kids. Note aside: I am not saying that bad things will not happen to you (we do live in a fallen world the last time I checked), nor am I saying that God's will is for you to have "your best life now." I am not preaching a prosperity gospel where Jesus died so you can have a Mercedes. What I am saying is this: Your "NORMAL" should include God's favor. Don't let the devil lie to you and make you think that "bad luck" is just how your life is. He saved you and set you free from that life when He bought you with Jesus' blood. When something unfortunate does happen and you're tempted to think "oh' that's just how my life rolls," stop yourself and return that thought to its sender!

When we are focused on our problems, our eyes leave Jesus. When we encounter a hiccup from life and manage to keep our eyes on the Savior (it's not easy and it takes practice, I'm still getting there myself), then our entire perspective changes. We no longer think, "That's just my luck," instead we ask Jesus how He sees it. Is this situation for your benefit (we know that God will work it for your good Rom. 8:28)? Is it so you can learn something? Is it correction for a sin or fault of your own? When we start talking to Jesus about our issues, they become an opportunity to draw nearer to Him.

I challenge you, the next time you're faced with what you'd call, "just my luck," ask Jesus how He sees things, and then start decreeing what He says about you. Speak life!

*For more verse on this check out: https://www.openbible.info/topics/speaking_things_into_existence